Hi all. I've been in touch with Rosslynn Taylor-Jordon of Paramount.com, who is a coordinator for the Dr. Phil's show. She's looking for folks to participate on their upcoming show NEXT TUESDAY. The topic is regarding tipping - has it gotten out of hand? The show is looking for participants who are annoyed by the little tip jars in places like Starbucks and generally have a beef when they have to leave a tip at a restaurant or to a bellman, etc.

This post includes our email back and forth wherein Rosslynn sought my assistance.

If you have any interest in being a show participant, please contact Rosslynn at the address indicated below.


Thanks.
Serena

serena@serena1.com


----- Original Message -----
From: Serena M. Giddens
To: Rosslynn_Taylor-Jordan@Paramount.com
Sent: Friday, November 08, 2002 9:32 PM
Subject: Re: Form submission


Hi Roslyn. I suspect it will be difficult to locate folks with that viewpoint, especially in the time frame you have to work with. And, unfortunately, I don't have email addresses for but a few of the folks who post to Pet Peeves. Most people want to be anonymous and don't provide their email address. The form they complete on that page is sent directly to me by a PHP script via my server (as opposed to being from the folks who post), so unless they actually input their email address, it's not included in the notification to me of their post.

I just did a check on all the posts remotely related and only one listed an URL (no email addy's). I went to the URL and the site is no longer there, which tells me the email addy is no longer good either. I'm afraid I won't be of much help. But I will send out an email to my contacts to see if there are any nibbles. I'll also see if I can find any sources for you myself online.

Talk to you later.

Serena
----- Original Message -----
From: Rosslynn_Taylor-Jordan@Paramount.com
To: Serena M. Giddens
Sent: Friday, November 08, 2002 9:19 PM
Subject: Re: Form submission



Serena!!!!

Thanks for the quick response. We already have an audience full of people who agree you should tip. I was a server myself off and on for 6 years, so I completely agree! However, that's the problem. I don't know anyone who feels differently and we need someone to balance out the debate. I've searched so many engines to try and find an organization or group who hold the anti- tipping view but no luck. If you come up with any ideas or sites I would really appreciate if you'd pass them on.

I saw on your site that a few of the responses from people could work. Do you think you could pass on my request to them? It's on your main page talking about tipping. Thanks again for your time and effort. I'll be in the office this weekend if you want to e-mail me anything.


Best regards,


Rosslynn Taylor -Jordan
Senior Associate Producer
Dr. Phil
rosslynn_taylor-jordan@paramount.com
(323)956-3383
(323)862-1316 fax


"Serena M. Giddens" <serena@serena1.com>
11/08/2002 07:06 PM
Please respond to "Serena M. Giddens"


To: <Rosslynn_taylor-jordan@paramount.com>
cc:
Subject: Re: Form submission



Hi Rosslynn. It sounds like you are wanting people who can voice opposition
to tipping. I agree that expecting people to tip where there are no
servers, where only counter ordering of food by patrons is involved, who
themselves order and then carry their own food to their tables is
ridiculous. However, as to servers/waiters/waitresses or other people who
physically assist you in some way (such as carrying luggage or providing
other services), I strongly believe that people should tip their servers for
acceptable service. In my circle of associates, that's what we generally
agree to on this issue, so anyone I could refer to you would probably have
like opinion.

Now if you wanted some people who strongly favor tipping servers, I'm
probably could be of assistance in rounding up some potential participants.
If so, let me know. I know a few people who won't be working between now
and Tuesday. Let me know the time frame for their needing to be in
attendance.

Good luck with your show!

Best wishes,
Serena M. Giddens
972-395-2525

----- Original Message -----
From: <Rosslynn_taylor-jordan@paramount.com>
To: <serena@serena1.com>
Sent: Friday, November 08, 2002 8:33 PM
Subject: Form submission


> realname: Rosslynn
> yoursubject: Tipping Pet Peeves
> Home_Page:
> Home_Page_Url: http://
> Comments: I am desperately looking for people who think that tipping is
out of hand or should be eliminated. They are annoyed by the little tip jars
in Starbucks and generally have a beef when they have to leave a tip at a
restaurant or a bellman.I work for the Dr. Phil show and we are looking to
get some opposing views for our show this Tuesday. Can you help me in any
way! I would appreciate any help.

Is this for real?

Yes it is.

I don't like Dr. Phil. All he does is yell at people for something they know they already did wrong. I thought he was supposed to help work out their problems, but from the shows I've watched he hasn't done anything but yell and yell and yell.

No tipping in Australia. :D

Really? Is it illegal, or just not the custom?

Wasn't this guy from Oprah? And wasn't David Letterman making fun of him? Ha...

Yes, he appears on Oprah Winfrey's show very frequently, and has enough of a following that he now has his own show.

BTW, I didn't mean to start a thread to critique this particular talk show host. I simply was putting it out there for anyone interested in participating in the show defined in my post.

Yeah...Dr. Phil is all of those things...he was on Oprah, he gets made fun of by David Letterman...ad nauseum.

Now, normally, a guy like Dr. Phil would be the last person I'd have an iota of interest in, however, he is a rather interesting character. His demeanor is much different than the typical Phil Donahue-wannabe where its a matter of arguing back and forth until a resolution is made via brute force. Instead, he seems to lay down the law moreso than any other talk show host I've seen. I think that's kinda cool especially considering the types of people he's dealt with on Oprah and prior to. I've even read a few of his books, and they aren't too bad a read (although there are certainly more important things to read than "Self Matters"!).

I think Dr. Phil may create a whole new genre of talk show hosts....which the world is in such a shortage of! ahaha!

I take it not many people are liking his show if they need to get volunteers from a forum like this.....lol

go Letterman!......

Dr Phil's carved out an entire career by doing little more than feeding people the common sense they should have in the first place. :)

Bob, I tip. Cabbies, Cafe's etc. Spending a fair amount of time in the states helped, but I also worked in restaurants in my previous life and know how important tips are to workers. Cabbie's deserve a tip purely as they have to deal with humanity at their worst - 3-5am on a Saturday morning, full of booze and bad manners.

I'm a little amazed someone's making a show about tipping though. :) If people get annoyed at seeing a tip jar then they probably need to take a long hard look at themselves. If you feel guilty when you see a tip jar and are too cheap to spare some change, then live with it I say :)

In fact, a month or so ago someone responded to a support ticket I helped him with a thankyou, and a suggestion that we should look at some kind of script that would allow for a 'tip jar' on the website - micropayments of sorts I suppose. Now I think about it, maybe it wasn't such a crazy idea after all.

Greg Moore

Originally posted by net-trend
I take it not many people are liking his show if they need to get volunteers from a forum like this.....lol

go Letterman!......

My understanding is that there are plenty of show participants available who do support tipping, but the show would like to present both sides of the issue in a balanced way.

It's an unfortunate fact that there are many servers (waiters/waitresses) out there that can tell you, from personal experience, that a fair amount of people do oppose and do not tip. It does depend somewhat on the surrounding geographical areas.

I am glad that the majority of my contacts don't fall into the anti-tip camp, as tipping for good service is only fair, especially when you consider that the folks who work as servers almost always get only minimum wage, tips make up the bulk of their income, and a good server works very hard to please their customers.

I applaud the show for wanting to present the issue in a balanced way, but I think finding and inviting anti-tip folks to cover the issue in a balanced way within the short time frame given will be difficult.

Too bad I can't be there because I'ld really like to go off on the tipping system :D

In my country we have no such thing. We get payed salaries for the work we do. If I'm a waiter I am supposed to bring food to tables. It is what I am SUPPOSED to do. They PAY me for it. If I don't do it well I get fired.

The whole idea of "Whoa! he actually brought me food! Damn, it is the food I ordered! Man, this is GREAT! Let's give him a financial reward for this" is too dumb to be true. Yet... in many countries it is :(

Whenever I visit the US I have the hardest of times with this system. Maybe when you are brought up with it it is second nature but I have cold sweat about it in advance.

Decisions decisions. Starting at the airport, taxi, hotel, lobby, bell boy.

Constantly thinking "does this guy expect a tip?, do I tip now or later? how much does he expect? do I give too much? do I give too little? Would he be insulted if I give him a tip? I really don't like his attitude, would it be ok not to give him anything?"

Sometimes I don't think about it and after a person has left I think "damn, should I have tipped him?" Or if I tip someone and I look at his face I think "oops, did I make an error? Maybe this person is not supposed to be tipped?"

Does the hotel manager expect a tip? Would it insult him?

WWAAAAAAAHHHHH!!! Dumb system. I'll stay home from now on :bawling:

Want to hear a funny story about tipping?

When I was in high school, me and another teen had lunch at a Chinese restaurant. Being kids-- and not thinking we had to leave a tip or anything-- we simply paid our bill and got up to leave. Just as we reach the door, the owner of the restaurant starts to scream at us in broken English:

"No, no, no! You leave tip! You leave tip!"

Mind you-- we're, like, two 17 year olds and a meal at a restaurant is a huge chuck out of the pittance we make at our after school jobs. :emlaugh:

My mother is offended by the idea of tipping and actually has to be coerced into doing so. I'm so embarrassed when I go out with her sometimes because if I don't say anything, she will leave the table without tipping. She too is from another country, so I don't know if that has something to do with it. I don't mind tipping; I just don't like the idea that it's almost become a mandatory thing now, regardless of whether you were served well or not.

I tip for good service. If I get good service then I always tip no matter where I am in the world. Crappy service on the other hand and no-one gets a tip.

There's an upside to tipping if it's a regular place you go to. Some friends and I often have breakfast at a cafe around here. The service is exceptional, because the owners know we're all big tippers.

Same with a couple of cab drivers I often get. Since these guys worked out my address means a tip I've noticed they arrive a lot quicker than they used to.

Greg Moore

Originally posted by akashik
I tip for good service. If I get good service then I always tip no matter where I am in the world. Crappy service on the other hand and no-one gets a tip.



Yep, that's what me and my friends/family generally tend to do. And that's what i hope everyone does to, you need to earn a tip; you DON'T deserve it if you don't earn it. :)

Originally posted by Shauna
----- Original Message -----
From: Rosslynn
To: Serena
Sent: Friday, November 08, 2002 9:19 PM
Subject: Re: Form submission

<snip> I was a server myself off and on for 6 years...
I guess it is because this is a web hosting forum, and that I skimmed this quickly, but I was completely confused as to what servers (web hosting servers) had to do with this until I realized it has nothing to do with this... :D

I've got the tipping situation solved.....I don't go anywhere! :D

Originally posted by Shauna
Hi all. I've been in touch with Rosslynn Taylor-Jordon of Paramount.com, who is a coordinator for the Dr. Phil's showWithout meaning to offend or question anyone, how is it I saw this exact same email exchange (with slightly different names, but the text was *exactly* the same) yesterday on another board? The person saying they were contacted had a different name and email address than the poster here, but the text was no different. Down to every last word. Mighty large coincidence, no?

Seems unlikely to me that this person and the other were exactly the same person, but if they were...why change the names used?

There are 3 things that smell like fish. One of them is fish.

Originally posted by Aussie Bob
No tipping in Australia. :D
My wife is from Korea and she is annoyed with the the tipping here. In Korea, there's no tax added (included in the price, so the price marked is the price you pay), and no tipping in taxis, they don't have baggage people outside the airports, but the carts are free, heh, no restaurant tipping, haricuts, etc.

What is interesting is that when we go to a Korean restaurant here (L.A. area), tip isn't given nor is it expected.

I personally don't like 'expected' tipping. For example, when you go to a restaurant with a large party, they add 15% to the bill. We went to a pizza restaurant and it was all you can eat/drink. Pizza was self-serve, they put it on the counter, you take what you want. Drinks (brewski's) were by request at the counter, but it was pre-paid and they added 15%.

I can't think of how many people you're expected to tip...

Servers (not the web variety, heh)
Hair cut
Taxi driver
Baggage

Then ones like...

Coffee house people, etc.

Is there a master list somewhere?

Originally posted by akashik
The service is exceptional, because the owners know we're all big tippers.

Hmm, that's one part of the system I have a problem with. Tip or no tip, I'ld expect a great service anyway.

*sigh* no, the system is confusing and whenever I travel I am constantly worrying if I am pissing people off because of the tipping thing.

Originally posted by thatguy
Without meaning to offend or question anyone, how is it I saw this exact same email exchange (with slightly different names, but the text was *exactly* the same) yesterday on another board? The person saying they were contacted had a different name and email address than the poster here, but the text was no different. Down to every last word. Mighty large coincidence, no?

Seems unlikely to me that this person and the other were exactly the same person, but if they were...why change the names used?

There are 3 things that smell like fish. One of them is fish.

No, not fishy at all, I sent the emails between myself and the Dr. Phil Show coordinator to all my contacts and it is very likely that at least some of them posted to forums they frequent, copying in the text of my email to them. There is no other way the wording could have possibly been identical to mine, as it was completely original to myself, unless it was copied subsequent to my communication either via email or in one or more of the forums to which I posted this identical post myself - in the five forums I frequent.

Originally posted by Shauna
I sent the emails between myself and the Dr. Phil Show coordinator to all my contacts and it is very likely that at least some of them posted to forums they frequent, copying in the text of my email to them. This is entirely possible. The forum where I saw it has been down all day, so I can't verify. I apologize if I sounded accusing, but the wording was exactly the same, and the email address and name were not IIRC.

Forget I said anything...I'm sure it's what you said. :D

Originally posted by net-trend
go Letterman!......

Yep. Letterman rocks. :)

Originally posted by thatguy
Forget I said anything...I'm sure it's what you said. :D

No problem, I just didn't want folks to think it was another Internet hoax. ;)

BTW, If the poster in the other forums were Reenee or Serena - that's me. On this forum, membership was set up under my daughter's name, Shauna, who works in my hosting business. Didn't see the need to maintain two separate memberships on one computer. I have different online names/email addy's - depending on the particular forums, as I have a business site (reenee.net) and a personal site (serena1.com), so "who" is posting depends on the primary forum type.

Besides, my multiple-personalities demand recognition ! ;)

I always leave a tip usually 20% unless the server is annoying.

Dr. Phil and his Opera Sex scandal woah.

Like Bob said, no tipping in Australia. I didnt even know that in the states tehy expect tips, all news to me.

One statment was that servers get bad pay. But I think it is just a cycle - they get low pay because the owner expect they get tips. But it would all be sorted out if there was no tipping and they got payed more ;). There should be no need for a tip - the worker gets payed for working.

Just my opinion ofcourse...:)

Well, if there was no tipping then most likley the prices would go up a bit as the waiters etc got paid more.... which is not necessarily a bad thing but it is because it can only happen if a large amount of people agree to it.

I tip where appropriate. I have my favorite pizza delivery driver, she's a nice lady... they say it'll be here in 45mins and she gets here in 15... so she gets a nice tip... after all... I hate cold pizza.. :)

In more of the fancier places tipping is mandatory, and in many french restruants... however... I don't like the idea of a mandatory tip. If your a good server or delivery person I'll tip you.. I'm even tempted to tip my fedex guy but I know they get paid well so I don't worry about him :)